A recent article published in La Chimica e l’Industria highlights the achievements and benefits of the Tech4lib project, which is developing an innovative microwave-assisted process for recovering critical materials from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.
Developed by the University of Brescia in collaboration with INSTM and supported by MITO Tech Transfer, the technology delivers high recovery yields for lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. Compared with conventional methods, it also significantly reduces energy consumption and the use of hazardous reagents.
The project has exceeded key regulatory recovery targets, demonstrated its potential for scale-up and even led to the discovery of a new nickel-based compound with possible catalytic applications.
These promising results have opened the way to the creation of an academic spin-off M.I.R.A. With potential investment from MITO Tech Ventures, the new company could bring the technology closer to industrial application—turning successful research into a concrete circular-economy solution and strengthening Europe’s access to critical raw materials.